System and method for monitoring retail store performance

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring the performance of at least one task associated with operation of a retail store. The system includes at least one monitoring device positioned and adapted to provide images of at least one location within the retail store, with each image showing at least one factor related to performance of the at least one task. A controller is adapted to obtain and store images from the at least one monitoring device. An interface is adapted to enable a user to selectively view stored images and to manually analyze the at least one factor shown in the viewed images to evaluate the performance of the at least one task.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the retail industry continues to become more competitive, customersatisfaction is of paramount importance in establishing and maintainingcustomers. Customer satisfaction depends on a variety of factors such asa customer's perception of price, product availability, well-stockedshelves, ease of finding products within a retail store, cleanliness ofthe store, and friendliness of employees.

However, perhaps the most important factor regarding customersatisfaction is customer service. Of primary concern with regard tocustomer service is the amount of time a customer must wait whenrequiring assistance from a store employee. This includes, for example,time spent waiting for assistance at a customer service counter, at amerchandise counter and, of course, time spent waiting in check-outlanes. Generally speaking, the less time spent waiting for assistance,the more satisfied the customer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a system formonitoring the performance of at least one task associated withoperation of a retail store. The system comprises at least onemonitoring device positioned and adapted to provide images of at leastone location within the retail store, with each image showing at leastone factor related to performance of the at least one task. The systemfurther includes a controller and an interface. The controller isadapted to obtain and store images from the at least one monitoringdevice. The interface is configured to enable a user to selectively viewstored images and to manually analyze the at least one factor shown inthe viewed images to evaluate the performance of the at least one task.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to thefigures, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a performancemonitoring system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a performancemonitoring system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a performancemonitoring system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4A is an illustration of a graphical user interface for use withone embodiment of a performance monitoring system according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 4B illustrates in greater detail a portion of the graphical userinterface of illustrated in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a process formonitoring the performance of a retail store according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of a processfor determining staffing requirements of a retail store according to thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram generally illustrating one embodiment of aperformance monitoring system 10 according to the present invention formonitoring the performance of at least one task associated withoperation of a retail store 12. Performance monitoring system 10includes a plurality of monitoring devices 14, each positioned to view acorresponding location 16 within retail store 12 and adapted to provideimages of the corresponding location 16, each image showing at least onefactor related to performance of at the at least one task. In oneembodiment, monitoring devices 14 comprise cameras. In one embodiment,monitoring devices 14 comprise analog video cameras adapted to provideanalog video of corresponding locations 16. In one embodiment,monitoring devices 14 comprise digital video cameras adapted to providedigital video of corresponding locations 16. As illustrated, analogvideo cameras 14 a through 14 f respectively correspond to storelocations indicated as checkout lanes 14 a, customer service desk 14 b,electronics counter 14 c, jewelry counter 14 d, stockroom 14 e, andreceiving area 14 f. Although illustrated as having analog video cameras14 a through 14 f, monitoring system 10 can include more or fewercameras 14 at locations other than locations 16 indicated by FIG. 1.Additionally, multiple cameras may be used to monitor a single storelocation, such as check lanes 16 a.

Performance monitoring system 10 further includes a controller 18 and aninterface 20. Controller 18 is adapted to automatically obtain and storestill images from each of the monitoring devices 14 at selectableintervals. In one embodiment, controller 18 is adapted to obtain stillimages in a digital format, such as JPG format, for example, from analogvideo cameras 14 at selected intervals. In one embodiment, theselectable intervals are regular intervals, such as every fifteenminutes, for example.

Interface 20 is adapted to enable a user, such as a store manager, toselectively view the stored images and to manually analyze the at leastone factor shown in the viewed images to evaluate the performance of theat least one task. Examples of such factors include number of employeesand an amount of unloading time required when evaluating the task ofunloading an incoming shipment of products at receiving dock 16 f, and anumber of customers awaiting service when evaluating the tasks ofprocessing customers at check lanes 16 a or assisting customers atcustomer service area 16 b, electronics counter 16 c, and jewelrycounter 16 d. Any number of other tasks associated with operation ofretail store 12 can be similarly monitored by providing and positioningcameras 14 at other locations within retail store 12 as required.

By providing monitoring of selected areas of a retail store, performancemonitoring system 10 enables a user, such as a store manager, toevaluate performance of selected tasks associated with the operation ofthe retail store. Based on such evaluations, performance of certaintasks can be adjusted to improve the store's performance. For example,staffing requirements at certain store locations, particularly at checklanes, can be evaluated and adjusted in order to minimize customer waittimes and thereby likely improve customer satisfaction. Furthermore, bystoring the images, monitoring system 10 enables a user, such as a storemanager, to evaluate the performance of tasks at any suitable time anddoes not require real-time monitoring.

Components of the present invention can be implemented in hardware via amicroprocessor, programmable logic, or state machine, in firmware, or insoftware with a given device. In one aspect, at least a portion of thesoftware programming is web-based and written in HTML and JAVAprogramming languages, including links to user interfaces, such as aWindows based operating system, and each of the main components maycommunicate via a network using a communication protocol. For example,the present invention may or may not use a TCP/IP protocol for datatransport. Other programming languages and communication protocolssuitable for use with the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading the present application.Components of the present invention may also reside in software on oneor more computer-readable mediums, which is defined herein to includeany kind of memory, volatile or non-volatile, such as floppy disks, harddrives, read-only memory (ROM), CD-ROMs, flash memory, and random accessmemory (RAM).

FIG. 2 is a block and schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment ofperformance monitoring system 10 for retail store 12 as illustratedgenerally by FIG. 1. Performance monitoring system 10 includes aplurality of analog video cameras 14, such as analog video cameras 14 athrough 14 e. Each camera 14 is coupled to a digital video recorder(DVR) 30 via a corresponding link 32. Each camera 14 is configured as aunique channel and provides an analog video signal of its associatedstore location 16 via corresponding link 32 to DVR 30. DVR 30 includesan analog-to-digital converter (A/D) 34 which converts the analog videosignal of each camera (or channel) 14 to a corresponding digital videohaving a digital video format, such as AVI, for example. DVR 30 isconfigured to store a predetermined amount of the digital video for eachcamera 14. In one embodiment, for example, DVR 30 stores a day's worthof digital video for each camera 14, with the stored digital video beingreplaced with the digital video for each subsequent day.

A server 40 is coupled to DVR 30 via a link 42. In one embodiment,controller 18 comprises a monitoring system application (MSA) comprisingan electronically readable code which is installed and operating onserver 40. In one embodiment, in addition to MSA 18, store server 40includes various other applications 44 related to operation of retailstore 12. MSA 18 is adapted to automatically retrieve digital stillimages for each camera 14 at regular intervals from DVR 30 via link 42.In one embodiment, MSA 18 is adapted to retrieve the digital stillimages for each camera by selecting a single frame from a selectabletime period of the digital video of each camera stored in DVR 30 and byconverting the selected digital video frame from a digital video from,such as AVI, to a digital still picture format, such as JPG. In oneembodiment, MSA 18 stores the retrieved digital still images for eachcamera in a memory 46 according to a directory and file namingconvention. In an alternate embodiment, MSA 18 stores the retrieveddigital still images in a database 48. Although illustrated as beingwithin server 40, in other embodiments, database 48 could be locatedexternal to server 40.

In one embodiment, interface 20 comprises a graphical user interface(GUI) adapted to display the digital still photos stored in database 46and which is viewable via a personal computer (PC) 50 coupled to server40 via a link 52. Although illustrated as being viewed via PC 50, inother embodiments, GUI 20 may be viewed via other electronic viewingdevices, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or Blackberrydevice, for example.

In one embodiment, DVR 30 comprises a portion of a security system 60which further includes a plurality of analog video cameras 62 providingsurveillance video of retail store 12 for purposes of assets protection.Surveillance system 60 is controlled by a security system application(SSA) 64 comprising a computer readable code which is installed andoperating on store server 40. In one embodiment, analog video cameras 16are dedicated for use as surveillance cameras for assets protection andanalog video cameras 14 are employed both as surveillance cameras bysecurity system 60 and as monitoring cameras by performance monitoringsystem 10. Security system 60 utilizes the entire video signal of analogvideo cameras 14 and 62 stored in DVR 30, while performance monitoringsystem 10 utilizes the digital images obtained by controller 18 andstored in database 46.

In one embodiment, security system 60 represents an existingsurveillance system within retail store 12. If analog video cameras 62of security system 60 are already positioned or can be repositioned toview all locations desired to be monitored by performance monitoringsystem 10 (e.g., locations 16 as illustrated by FIG. 1), analog videocameras 14 are not required and MSA 18 of performance monitoring system10 can obtain images as necessary from existing analog video cameras 62.However, if analog video cameras 62 of security system 60 are not, orcannot, be positioned to view all desired store locations 16, analogvideo cameras 14 are added to security system 60 and positioned to viewthe otherwise non-observed areas. In such a scenario, while the primaryfunction of analog video cameras 14 is to provide images for performancemonitoring system 10, analog video signals provided by analog videocameras 14 via links 32 can also be utilized for assets protectionpurposes by security system 60.

In one embodiment, in lieu of a digital recording device, recordingdevice 30 comprises some type of analog recording device, such as one ormore video tape recording devices adapted to record the analog videosignals received via links 32 from each camera, or channel. In such anembodiment, performance monitoring system 10 further includes a “framegrabber” (FG) 70 adapted to capture at regular intervals a single frameof the analog video signal provided by each camera 14 prior to theanalog video signal being recorded by the analog recording device, andto convert the single frame to a digital still image which issubsequently stored in memory 46.

In one embodiment, cameras 14 comprise digital still cameras configuredto provide digital still images of store locations 16 at intervals asdirected by MSA 18. In this embodiment, digital still images fromcameras 14 can be stored directly to database 46 as directed by MSA 18.As such, recording device 30 is not required in this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a performancemonitoring system 110 according to the present invention configured as anetwork system distributed across a plurality of retail stores 112 and aheadquarters facility 113 of a retail corporation. In one embodiment, asillustrated, each retail store 112 a through 112 n respectively includesa monitoring system 110 a to 110 n. In one embodiment, monitoringsystems 110 are similar to monitoring system 10 of retail store 12described above by FIG. 2, with each monitoring system 110 including aplurality of digital video cameras and a digital recording device(indicated generally at 114), and an MSA 118 and database 146 installedand operating on a server 140. Each monitoring system 110 furtherincludes a GUI 120 viewable via an electronic viewing device, such as PC150. Headquarters facility 113 includes a server 140 x and at least oneelectronic viewing device, such as PC 150 x, for viewing GUI 120 x.

Monitoring systems 110 a to 110 n of are respectively coupled to anetwork communications link 180 via communications links 176 a to 176 nand headquarters facility 110 is coupled to network communications link180 via communications link 176 x. Network communication link 180, asemployed herein, includes an Internet communications link, an intranetcommunication link, or similar high-speed communication link. In oneembodiment, network communication link 18 includes an Internetcommunications link 182. Internet communications link permitscommunication between performance monitoring systems 110 of stores 112and between performance monitoring systems 110 of stores 110 andheadquarters facility 113.

In one embodiment, network communications link 180 includes an Intranetcommunications link 184 linking retail stores 112 and headquartersfacility 113 by means of Internet communications link 182. Intranetcommunications link 184 provides a controlled-access communications linkbetween stores 112 and headquarters facility 113 which is accessible viaa password or other user-recognition mechanism.

MSA 118 of monitoring system 110 of each retail store 112 is configuredto obtain and store digital images of desired locations within retailstore 112 (e.g. locations 16 as illustrated by FIG. 1) in memory 146 ofserver 140 of corresponding retail store 112. In other embodiments, inlieu of monitoring systems 110 storing digital images in a memory 146local to each retail store 112, monitoring systems 110 store digitalimages obtained from corresponding camera and recording devices 114 in acentral data base, such as database 192 within server 140 x ofheadquarters facility 113 or database 194 coupled to networkcommunications link 180 via a communications link 196.

In one embodiment, the digital images obtained by MSAs 118 are viewableby users via GUIs 120 which access the digital images stored in databases 146 of servers 140 via a website 190 located on server 140 x ofheadquarters facility 113 and network communications link 180. Althoughillustrated as being located on server 140 x, in other embodiments,website 190 could be located on any server coupled to networkcommunications link 180.

In one embodiment, as described briefly above, intranet communicationslink 184 comprises a controlled-access communications link betweenstores 112 and headquarters facility 113. In one embodiment, to accessthe digital photos stored in memories 146, a user, such as a manager ofretail store 112 a, enters the URL (Uniform Resource Location), oraddress, of website 190 into a Web browser located on PC 150 a whichsubsequently locates website 190 via intranet connection 186. To accesswebsite 190, the user enters a username and password. Upon entering avalid username and password, the user can access and view selectedstored digital images via GUI 120 a which is displayed by PC 150 a.Although described as being accessed via PC 150, website 190 can beaccessed via other types of electronic viewing devices, such as a PDA,for example, and from any location that provides a communication link tointranet 184.

In one embodiment, access to viewing stored images is limited based on auser's logon ID. For instance, in one embodiment, based on the user'sunique logon ID, a user associated with a given retail store 112 canaccess only stored images corresponding to the given retail store 112.For example, a manager of retail store 112 a can access only images oflocations within retail store 112 a which are stored within memory 146a, and cannot access images of other retail stores, such as retail store112 b. In other embodiments, other users, such as certain employeesassociated with headquarters facility 113, can access images of allretail stores 112 a to 112 n respectively stored in memories 146 a to146 n. In one embodiment, access to viewing stored images is limitedbased a location from which access is initiated. For example, in oneembodiment, each PC, or workstation, 150 has unique hardware identifierwhich corresponds, at least in part, to the retail store 112 in which PC150 is located. As such, a user accessing stored images via PC 150 a,for example, is limited to viewing only those images stored in memory146 a corresponding to retail store 112 a.

FIG. 4A is an illustrative example of GUI 120 for accessing and viewingdigital images provided by performance monitoring systems 110 viawebsite 190 as described above by FIG. 3. GUI 120 includes an optionsmenu 200, an image selection menu 202, and an image display area 204.Options menu 200 includes a pull-down menu 206 that enables a user toselect a retail store 112 from which the user would like to view digitalimages provided by the stores performance monitoring system 110. In oneembodiment, pull-down menu 206 comprises a list of unique identificationnumbers corresponding to each retail store 112 (for example, “RS123” asillustrated in FIG. 4) from which the user can select, such as byselecting the identification number corresponding to the desired retailstore with a mouse. Similarly, options menu 200 includes a pull-downmenu 208 that enables a user to select a desired date from which theuser would like to view images for the desired retail store 112 asselected via pull-down menu 206.

As described above, in one embodiment, access of images is limited basedon a user's unique logon ID or location. As such, in one embodiment,pull-down menu 206 comprises the unique identification numbers of onlythose retail stores 112 to which the user is allowed access as based onthe user's password. Thus, for a user having access to only one retailstore 112, options menu 200 will include only pull-down menu 208enabling the user to select a desired date from which to view images ofonly the retail store 112 with which the user is associated. In lieu ofpull-down menu 206, only the unique identification number of the storewith which the user is associated will be displayed.

Image selection menu comprises a column 210 of descriptions of monitoredlocations within the selected retail store (e.g. locations 16 of retailstore 12 as illustrated by FIG. 1). Each description of column 210 isfollowed by a row 212 of icons 214 representative of stored imagescorresponding to the described location within the selected retailstore. In one embodiment, each row comprises 24 icons with each iconrepresentative of images acquired during one hour of the day selectedvia pull-down menu 208. In one embodiment, as indicated at 216, thecolumns of icons are labeled as columns “01” through “23” with the iconsin the column labeled “00” representative of digital images acquiredbetween 12:00 am and 1:00 am, the icons in the column labeled “01”representative of digital images acquired between 1:00 am and 2:00 am,and so on.

In one embodiment, wherein images of desired locations within a retailstore are obtained on 15-minute intervals, each icon 214 is partitionedinto four areas 214 a through 214 d, with each area being representativeof one of the four photos acquired during the corresponding hour. Forexample, as illustrated by the enlarged view of FIG. 4B, icon 214 isrepresentative of images of a first group of check lanes (“check lanes1”) acquired during time period “23”, wherein time period “23”corresponds to the time period between 11:00 pm to 12:00 am. As such,areas 214 a, 214 b, 214 c and 214 d respectively represent images of thefirst group of check lanes acquired at 11:00 pm, 11:15 pm, 11:30 pm and11:45 pm.

After selecting a desired store and a desired date via pull-down menus206 and 208, a user chooses an image to be viewed by selecting one ofthe icons 214. In one embodiment, a user selects a desired icon, ordesired area of an icon, by mouse-clicking the desired icon 214. Uponselecting a desired image, the image is displayed within image viewingarea 204. In one embodiment, image viewing area 204 includes a titlefield 218 displaying the description of the store location from column210 corresponding to the selected image (i.e. the camera from which theselected image originated) and an indication of a time frame 220corresponding to the selected image.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a process 250according to the present invention for monitoring performance of atleast one task associated with operation of a retail store. Process 250begins at step 252 where cameras are provided at desired locationswithin the retail store where certain tasks which are desired to bemonitored are performed, such as positions 16 illustrated by FIG. 1. Inone embodiment, as described above, the cameras may be analog videocameras providing analog video signals which are converted into digitalvideo format. In one embodiment, the cameras may be digital videocameras providing a digital video signal. In one embodiment, the camerasmay be digital still cameras providing digital still photos. In oneembodiment, the cameras may comprise a portion of an existing securitysurveillance system.

At step 254, images are obtained at selectable intervals from thecameras positioned at step 252. In one embodiment, the images areobtained at regular intervals, such as, for example, 15-minuteintervals. In one embodiment, wherein the cameras are analog videocameras, digital still photos are extracted from the digital videosignals obtained from the cameras' analog video signals, wherein theextracted images comprise digital still photos of the correspondingareas monitored by the cameras. At step 254, the images obtained at step254 are stored in a memory. In one embodiment, the obtained images arestored in a database.

At step 258, a user, such as a store manager, views selected imagesobtained and stored via steps 254 and 256. At step 260, the usermanually analyzes at least one factor shown in the viewed images that isrelated to the performance of a given task in order to evaluate how wellthe given task was performed. For example, a user may select images of agiven location provided by one or more cameras over a certain timeperiod to evaluate the performance of a task that is carried out a thatlocation. For example, a user may select one or more cameras positionedat receiving dock 16 f to monitor how long it takes to unload anincoming shipment of products. In this instance, factors related to theunloading of the incoming shipment may include the number of employeesengaged in unloading the truck, the size of packages being unloaded, andthe time required to unload the truck. From the images, the storemanager can evaluate generally the number of employees engaged inunloading the truck and from the time interval of the images selected,estimate how long it took to unload the truck.

At step 262, based on the evaluation of the images at step 260, the usermay determine that performance of the task needs to be improved. Forexample, if the truck took too long to unload, more employees may beassigned to this task for future shipments. Also, if from the images itappeared that there were too many employees assigned to unload thetruck, fewer employees may be assigned to unload future shipments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of a process 270according to the present invention for determining staffing requirementsat one or more check lanes of a retail store. Process 270 begins at step272 where still images of the one or more check lanes are provided. Inone embodiment, the still images are digital images. At step 274, thestill images are stored in a storage device.

At step 276, a user, such as a store manager, selects for viewing one ormore images of the one or more check lanes corresponding to a desiredtime interval. In one embodiment, the digital still images are viewedvia an electronic viewing device, such as via the display of a personalcomputer or a personal digital assistant (PDA). At step 278, the usermanually analyzes the one or more selected images to assess generallythe customer conditions at the one or more check lanes. If the imagespermit, a store manager may thoroughly assess customer conditions bymanually counting a number of customers awaiting service at the one ormore check lanes. The user may also determine a number of cashiers onduty and estimate a length of time customers wait before being served.

At step 278, the store manager may adjust the number of cashiers on dutyat that time of the day based on the conditions shown in the imagesviewed during step 276. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, a storemanager may view images obtained from camera 14 a during a selected timeinterval, such as between 4 pm and 5 pm on a given date, to evaluate theperformance of check lanes 16 a. For instance, if controller 18 obtainsimages from camera 14 a at fifteen minute intervals, the store managercan view the five images (i.e., 4:00, 4:15, 4:30, 4:45, and 5:00) todetermine the number of check lanes open (i.e., staffed with a cashier)and the number of customers at each open check lane in order todetermine whether more or few check lanes should be open during thattime of the day. Also, a store manager may view images of a same timeperiod each day over an extended time period (e.g., a week, a month,etc.) to determine trends in customer patterns in order to predict howmany cashiers should be available and how many check lanes should beopen at a given time.

One aspect of the present invention, as described briefly above withrespect to FIG. 2, relates to retrofitting a retail store's existingsecurity system to provide a performance monitoring system according tothe present invention, wherein the existing security system includes aplurality of video cameras each providing a video signal of acorresponding location within the retail store. The retrofitting processincludes evaluating the positions of the existing video cameras and toselect those existing video cameras that provide images of storelocations desired to be monitored. If all desired store locations arenot adequately monitored, the process includes adding one or more videocameras to the existing security system in order to adequately monitorsuch store locations.

The process further includes providing a controller adapted to capturedigital images from the video signals of selected existing video camerasand newly added video cameras. The process further includes providing astorage device in which to store the captured digital images andproviding an interface adapted to enable a user to selectively view thestored digital images in order to evaluate performance of one or moreoperations taking place at the one or more locations viewed in thedigital images.

Although the invention has been described with respect to particularembodiments, such embodiments are for illustrative purposes only andshould not be considered to limit the invention. Various alternativesand changes will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

1. A system for monitoring the performance of at least one taskassociated with operation of a retail store, the system comprising: atleast one monitoring device positioned and adapted to provide images ofat least one location within the retail store, each image showing atleast one factor related to performance of the at least one task; acontroller adapted to obtain and store images from the at least onemonitoring device; and an interface adapted to enable a user toselectively view stored images and to manually analyze the at least onefactor shown in the viewed images to evaluate the performance of the atleast one task.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least onemonitoring device comprises a video camera providing a video signal ofthe at least one location.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one monitoring device comprises a digital still camera.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to obtain and storeimages at selectable intervals.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thecontroller comprises an electronically readable code.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the interface comprises a graphical user interfaceincluding icons representative of selected stored images.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the at least one factor comprises a number of retailstore customers awaiting service at the least one location.
 8. Aperformance evaluation system comprising: a first monitoring systemadapted to provide and store images of at least one task being performedat a first facility; a second monitoring system adapted to provide andstore images of at least one task being performed at a second facility;and an interface adapted to enable selective viewing of the storedimages and manual evaluation of the at least one task based on theviewed images, wherein a first user associated with the first facilitycan view only stored images of the first facility, a second userassociated with the second facility can view only stored images of thesecond facility, and a third user associated with the first and secondfacilities can view stored images of the both the first and secondfacilities.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first facility is afirst retail store, the second facility is a second retail store, andthe third user is associated with a headquarters facility of a retailcorporation that includes the first and second retail stores.
 10. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the interface and the first and secondmonitoring systems are coupled via a communications link.
 11. The systemof claim 10, wherein the communications link includes the Internet. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the communications link comprises anintranet having restricted access.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinthe interface comprises a website.
 14. The system of claim 8, whereinthe first monitoring system stores images locally at the first facilityand the second monitoring system stores images locally at the secondfacility.
 15. The system of claim 8, wherein the first and secondmonitoring systems store images at a location remote from the first andsecond facilities.
 16. A performance monitoring system for a retailstore, the system comprising: means for providing images of at least onelocation within the retail store; means for storing the images; andmeans for viewing stored images to enable a user to manually evaluate aperformance of at least one task associated with operation of the retailstore occurring at the at least one location.
 17. The system of claim16, wherein the means for providing images includes means for providingimages at selectable intervals.
 18. The system of claim 16, whereinmeans for providing images further comprises: means for providing adigital video signal of the at least one location; and means forobtaining digital still images from the digital video signal atselectable intervals.
 19. A method of operating a retail store, themethod comprising: capturing images of at least one location within theretail store; storing the captured images at a storage location; viewingselected images stored at the storage location; and evaluating aperformance of at least one task occurring at the least one locationwithin the retail store by manually analyzing the viewed images.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further including: adjusting the performance of theat least one task based on the evaluation.
 21. The method of claim 19,wherein capturing images further comprises: positioning at least onecamera to view the at least one location; and providing images of the atleast one location with the at least one camera.
 22. The method of claim21, wherein the at least one camera comprises a digital video cameraproviding a digital video signal, and wherein capturing images furthercomprises: obtaining digital still photos from the digital video signalat selectable intervals.
 23. A method for determining staffingrequirements of a retail store, the method comprising: providing digitalimages of one or more check lanes at selectable intervals each day;storing the digital images in a storage device; viewing selected storeddigital images; counting manually a number of customers awaiting serviceat each of the one or more check lanes in the selected digital images;and determining staffing requirement based on the counting.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, further comprising: determining customer trendsbased on the number of customers counted in the selected digital images.25. The method of claim 24, further comprising: providing a number ofcashiers based on the customer trends.
 26. The method of claim 24,further comprising determining customer trends for a given day of theweek during a selected time period by counting the number of customersawaiting service at each of the one or more check lanes in each storeddigital image at each selectable time interval for each given day of theweek over the selected time period.
 27. A method of retrofitting aretail store's existing security system to provide performancemonitoring of store operations, the existing security system including aplurality of video cameras, each video camera providing a video signalof a corresponding location within the retail store, the methodcomprising: providing a controller adapted to capture digital imagesfrom the video signals of selected video cameras of the existingsecurity system; providing a storage device to store the captureddigital images; and providing an interface adapted to enable a user toselectively view the stored digital images in order to evaluateperformance of one or more operations occurring at one or more locationscorresponding to the digital images viewed.
 28. The method of claim 27,further comprising: adding one or more video cameras to the existingsecurity system to provide video of additional locations within theretail store to enable monitoring of operations occurring at theadditional locations, wherein the additional locations would nototherwise be monitored for security purposes.